Lockheed Martin taps Intel’s tech to provide military-grade private 5G to US DOD

More on this: Lockheed Martin is building military-grade private 5G networks with Intel’s technology for secure communications to be deployed across air, sea, land, and space, per ZDNet.

• The collaboration is a result of a decades-long partnership between Intel and Lockheed Martin. "Together, Intel and Lockheed Martin are utilizing the power of 5G to deliver greater connectivity, faster and more reliable networks, and new data capabilities to the DOD," said Dan Rodriguez, corporate vice president at Intel.
• Intel’s software and hardware are integrated into Lockheed Martin’s 5G.MIL hybrid base stations. The stations can be integrated into old military vehicles and multicopters to create ad hoc 5G networks, per IEEE Spectrum.
• Lockheed Martin has also partnered with Keysight, Microsoft, Verizon, and Dish for military 5G solutions.
• The US military is investing in a range of emerging technologies under a five-year, $1.7 billion defense-spending bill.

The bigger picture: Lockheed Martin is taking point on military and defense 5G applications and is integrating solutions from various American technology companies to develop multi-network gateways.

• Military-spec base stations can use 5G’s low latency and advanced authentication features to provide secure communications between field operatives and satellites, aircraft, ships, and ground vehicles in tactical operations.
• While consumer 5G rollouts have slowed in various markets, there’s an uptick in commercial and private 5G, which has similar mission-critical applications to defense deployments.
• In context, Lockheed Martin’s HiveStar, which is a smart satellite mesh networking architecture, can create highly mobile 5G network infrastructure in any battlefield.

The opportunity: The Lockheed Martin-led military and defense 5G initiatives could result in the development of powerful cloud, edge-computing, and communication applications.

• The DOD will have secure 5G and computing solutions that it can use as a military advantage.
• Lockheed Martin retains the distinction of being the industry leader in defense-focused telecommunications and computing applications. 
• Each of the companies collaborating on defense projects can develop more secure and robust consumer or private 5G solutions and protocols.